Teachers crucial to early detection of students struggling in classroom

Dec. 7, 2013

Amber Bowler

Written by

Brian Hubbard

Most of the remediation workload rests on the shoulders of classroom teachers.

They are the starting point. They have the most contact with a child and the most knowledge about a student’s academic strengths and weaknesses.

“That classroom teacher is the one who is going to do the core curriculum and then they are going to notice that maybe there are things the student is struggling with,” said Brian Hubbard, director of Springfield Public Schools Title I program, which uses federal funds to level the playing field for low-income students.

The district’s Performance Series exams test students at the beginning, middle and end of the year. The results help teachers identify the specific skills they need to work on — with the entire class and each student.

“Any child, any time, may need some level of remediation or intervention,” said Associate Superintendent Justin Herrell, who oversees the middle and high schools. “It just varies from that student who gets it and needs a little bit of clarity to the student who is kind of lost.”

District officials agree that teachers providing that extra help will keep the majority of students on track. Fewer, perhaps just 10 percent or so, will need remediation that goes beyond the classroom setting.

“The simple fact is there isn’t any student that doesn’t need something a little extra, a little personalized,” he said.

Amber Bowler, an elementary teacher at Study Alternative Center, said the only way to help a student get caught up academically is to “start with where they are.”

“We just really work on setting goals and getting them back on track,” she said.

In recent years, the district has invested professional development funds in training teachers to better use data to diagnose learning gaps and to address those gaps through differentiated instruction.

One way that works at the elementary level is to divide children into small groups based on similar skills and to work with them so they can improve.

“Within that they might have a small group of students who struggle in reading and they might put them in mini-groups based on what they need and provide lessons,” Hubbard said. “They meet with them daily while other students, that aren’t struggling as much, they meet with them every other day or less.”

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If a student or two continues to lag behind, the teacher is encouraged to carve out time to work with students individually.

Hubbard said at the same time, the teacher should be communicating with parents and tapping into other resources in the building. They can brainstorm with other teachers and, where available, use reading and math specialists.

He said communication with the family is key because parents or guardians can sometimes shed light on other factors that might be distracting a child. In those cases, the teacher may work with the school counselor or nurse to get help.

At some point, the teacher is also going to look at whether deeper interventions are necessary. The child might be tested to see if special education, gifted or English Language Learner services are needed.

“There are so many different things going on but it comes back to that core instruction and that classroom teacher working with the student,” Hubbard said. “The students that are struggling, it’s even more important that we’re identifying them quickly and then making sure we’re adapting the instruction to meet their needs.”